Disclaimer: Still don't own it.
Dinner was awkward to say the least.
There was such a wide distance between the married couples, it almost seemed like they were sitting at separate tables. Spencer was seated almost in the middle, a bit closer to her parents than Melissa and Wren. I was sitting in an empty chair off to the side, watching the scene in amusement.
It had been interesting watching Spencer, Melissa, and Veronica make dinner, while the husbands sat in silence in front of the television. Peter and Wren didn't say a word to each other while the basketball game was on, Wren looking like he wanted to run away. I wasn't sure who to feel sorry for, and was glad I wasn't a Hastings.
"How was Mona's funeral?" Wren asked, speaking for the first real time since he arrived at the Hastings household.
"Emotional," Spencer answered in a dry tone. Peter and Veronica glanced at one another, while Melissa looked irritated by the answer.
"I was sorry to hear about her death; I hope she is at peace now," Wren said sounding as if he meant it.
"Nope; I am definitely not at peace," I stated out loud heatedly, my anger starting to rise.
"I think Mona will be at peace once whoever murdered her is behind bars, like she belongs," Melissa said, giving Spencer a look. The tension was starting to rise and I found myself somewhat enjoying it.
"Well it was a shame that she died so very young; Mona was quite the talented girl who had a bright future," Wren stated and I could sense annoyance in his voice.
Wren was always loyal to Melissa and we were unlikely allies in our war against Alison. Wren had been an extension of that Alliance, and he had helped me out on more than one occasion. But in the end, Wren and Melissa had used me as cannon fodder, while conducting their own schemes for some goal that I only had my suspicions about.
"Maybe if Mona was sent to a better place to be treated, she might be still alive today. She was sick, and needed real help, not what was offered at Radley," Spencer argued, seeming to mimic her parents in their lawyer mode.
"A Sickness created by Alison DiLaurentis, and those who just stood by and let her do what she wanted," countered Wren, and I had a good idea what he meant by that.
"I don't think this is proper dinner conversation, so let's change the subject," Veronica suggested but seemed like more of an order in my opinion.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a conversation to be had after that exchange; just casual small talk that informed me that not only had Melissa and Wren had eloped in London, but that they now had moved into a house in Scotland which Wren had inherited. It was also apparent that they were planning on having children, and Melissa was going to take a local job as a lawyer, while Wren ran a private practice.
They had everything planned out; though I was curious to what unfinished business they had in Rosewood.
Eventually, everyone headed to their rooms for the rest of the night, and I hung out while Spencer was doing her homework. It was boring just watching her read, and I was tempted to go over to the barn to see what was going on there; Melissa and Wren were alone in there but I didn't want to walk in on them possibly having sex.
There was a knock at the door, and we were both surprised to see Hanna come in, shutting the door behind her.
"Hey." Hanna said, as she sat down on the chair I had been sitting. I didn't move quickly enough and I passed through her slightly.
"Is it cold in here?" asked Hanna as she shivered.
"I don't know; I think there's a draft somewhere. What's up?" Spencer said, putting aside her book and leaning forward.
"Caleb's been using Mona's software to spy on the police. He thinks someone else has been hacking into the police too," Hanna explained.
"Alison's partner? We know he or she has to be the techie," Spencer stated, giving the conversation one hundred percent of her attention.
Spencer was right; if Alison was "A", and I guess I had found proof before I died, then she needed technical help since she was a dunce in computers.
"Maybe but Caleb doesn't think so; he or she has been copying information on everything that the police have so far. Information that "A" would already have. He thinks that we are not the only ones investigating Mona's death," Hanna informed and that caught my attention since it meant that there was a possible third player out there.
"Maybe Lucas; he didn't take Mona's death well, he is also a good hacker," Spencer suggested in that thinking tone of hers.
"He would have a lot of time on his hands since he took the exit exams, and doesn't have to worry about school now," stated Hanna, nodding her head in agreement.
Lucas was always a loyal friend, though he never liked how I harassed the girls. He felt that I was taking my anger out on the wrong people and wanted out. So when I recruited Toby, I gave Lucas what he wanted, and even allowed the lie that I was blackmailing him to be fed to Hanna, so that they would be friends again. We were partners who understood that Alison was a monster.
So it didn't surprise me that he was going after Alison for revenge; though I wondered if he was doing it alone. Lucas was smart, and I could see him going rogue by starting his own group if he was the one who was doing the hacking. I wondered if he was working with Jenna and Sydney, since they would never let Alison get away with anything.
There was a war being waged and my death had started it.
"Anything else?" Spencer asked.
"They found traces of Mona's blood in the trunk of that abandoned car found last week outside of town. The police are thinking that is how the body was transported," Hanna informed quietly with her head low.
"Are they searching the woods? "A" has buried bodies before," Spencer stated sarcastically.
"They did with dogs but got nothing," Hanna answered.
"I think you're right about Mona getting trace on her when she fought back; I think this might help us," Spencer said, sounding enthusiastic about it.
"Why?" asked the blond, clearly curious.
"Because he or she might have a record and maybe even has DNA on file; which would explain why Mona's body was disposed," Spencer answered and I nodded in agreement.
"Well I'll head back to Caleb's before going home. Mom thinks I am spending too many times staying the night. She's afraid I'll get pregnant," Hanna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Actually, I always believed that either Spencer or Aria would be the ones who would get pregnant first out of the four.
"I'll think I will go with you," I said out loud, knowing that they wouldn't hear me anyways. Maybe looking over Caleb's shoulder would jog my memory since Spencer was beginning to become a dead end.
"By the way, did you get anything from your new brother-in-law?" Hanna asked, before leaving Spencer's room. I stayed off to the side in case she decided to step back into the room and through me. While I never felt anything going through people, I still found it awkward.
"We didn't get that far; I'm still angry that he used me, even if it was under Melissa's orders. I don't think I can hold a decent conversation with him right now," Spencer answered resentfully.
"Well bury it; he is our inside guy right now into Radley, and we need information on Bethany," Hanna said, almost making it an order.
"You kissed him once Hanna, I actually dated him so just give me time," Spencer said irritably. Hanna just shook her head, and I followed her out of the room. We kept going, passing an empty front room, and out of the house to her car. As Hanna got in the driver's seat, I climbed into the back seat where I felt the most comfortable right now.
While she drove, I just stared out the side window since I wasn't entirely sure what to do. I couldn't have a conversation with her, so talking to her was meaningless. It sucked that I couldn't even ask her to turn on some music; I couldn't remember the last time even listened to music or something with a beat.
It took about fifteen minutes before we reached the cabin where Caleb was staying. The light was on and we both got out of the car, heading inside.
"Caleb?" Hanna called out as we entered the cabin. If I were alive, the door would have gotten slammed in my face, I didn't resent Hanna for it though.
The cabin was a mess in my opinion, with papers and other things all over the place. An open laptop was on the table with empty soda cans next to it; it was turned off. The sink was clean of dishes, which was surprising, and I figured that he wasn't a total slob. I did wonder though if he was still drinking, since I had heard he did nothing but drink since he came back from Ravenswood.
I stood in the front area while she searched the place. Finding no one, Hanna sighed and pulled out her phone, typing something into it. I was guessing it was to Caleb because a beep was heard a minute later. The texting went on for several minutes before Hanna put her phone away and grabbed her stuff.
Since it was apparent that she was about to leave, I was in a bit of a bind. While spending the night here was less than idealistic, I wasn't about to walk all the way back to Spencer's just for family drama. Then again, maybe watching Caleb hack could jog my memory, of course yelling at him all the things I always wanted to call him could be fun as well.
So when Hanna left, I plopped on the least grungy chair and waited.
It was about half an hour before Caleb came home, bags of food in his hands. I watched as he put some of the stuff away in the fridge, and others in various cupboards. He still looked the same as when I last saw him, though a bit more cleaner in my opinion. I wondered if he was still in school or had taken the exit exams.
He turned on the laptop, unlocked it and then headed to the bedroom in the back to change.
Standing up, I walked over to the computer, and saw that it was still on the homepage; which sucked since I couldn't type anything to see what progress he had made. I couldn't even risk touching the computer, since it might short out something. I was glad though he was still using the software I gave him, since it meant that I would be able to follow his progress.
I was looking around when Caleb came into the room with his shirt off. He looked right at me, a surprised expression on his face. At first I just looked at him, expecting him to head towards the laptop next to me. But he kept staring at me with a bewildered expression until it dawned on me. He was looking straight at me.
"Mona?!" Caleb almost yelled and my jaw dropped.
"You can see me?" I asked, full of surprise and joy that someone could see me. I passed through the table and walked right up to him. He didn't back up at watching me go through a table but seemed even more surprise.
"You're a ghost," Caleb stated, not as bewildered as I would have thought. In fact it was kind of anticlimactic given the lack of vocal activity one would have if encountering a ghost.
"Okay you can see me but you're not freaking out," I said, now confused.
"Okay….wait, I have to sit down," Caleb said, pulling out the wooden chair from the table and sitting down. I just stood there as I watched as he closed his eyes and shook his head, before opening them and looking right at me.
"Have you been here all along?" he asked me, and I was still not sure why he was taking this so well.
"No; I woke up yesterday just outside the church. How can you see me? No one has been able to?" I asked, more demanding than asking.
"What do you mean "you woke up"? Caleb asked me, ignoring my question.
"I woke up. The last thing I remember was saying goodbye to my mother then waking up on the street. So if you are going to ask "who killed me?" then forget it because I want to know that too." I explained, irritably.
"What about what you found out about Bethany; Aria said you found something in her files that proves Alison is A?" He stated.
"I don't know either," I answered in defeat which surprised him even more.
"What do you mean?" Caleb inquired, now as confused as I was. I explained everything that had happened to me so far and he listened, staying silent the whole time. After I was done, his eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief.
"Way different than what happened with Miranda," he said offhandly.
"Who's Miranda?" I asked, never hearing the name before.
"A girl I met in Ravenswood. She died and became a ghost," Caleb answered as if he were talking about the weather.
"Wait….what?" I asked, not sure what to make of that. I had heard he went to Ravenswood because he met another girl and dumped Hanna; or that was my wish anyways.
"It's a long story that I don't really want to tell you of all people right now. So you have no idea who killed you, and any information you had is just gone?" he asked incredulously. I got the sense that he didn't believe me.
"Yes, and don't you think I'd tell you everything I knew if it could lead to my killer, and bringing Alison down?" I asked sarcastically.
"You were never a person to trust Mona; for all I know, this could be some part of a larger scheme of yours," Caleb said dryly.
"I AM DEAD YOU TWIT! This isn't some stupid scheme because me being a ghost does nothing for my interests!" I screamed at him, cause him to step back.
The furniture moved, and everything electronically went haywire as my rage exploded. It was bad enough that I was dead and the only one who could see me was someone I hated, but to be accused of having some plan was going too far. One of the light bulbs blew and sparks flew everywhere, nearly causing a fire.
"Okay, l'm down. I believe you. You need to calm down," Caleb said, changing his tone to a soothing pitch. As my rage dissipated, everything started to calm down, to the point where things stopped moving and flickering.
"This is going to suck!" I said, looking at Caleb and sighing.
Please R&R and a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!